500 Word Review - Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
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Beginning as an unassuming side project to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night by Koji Igarashi and other former Konami staff, Curse of the Moon exceeds expectations to the degree that many consider it classic 8-bit actioned oriented Castlevania in all but name. The series' distinct overtone of methodical combat and platforming is replicated right down to timing just when to jump over a pit while striking your whip towards an oscillating Medusa head. Before you're halfway towards the final battle atop a Transylvanian style castle, you'll be rotating through a quartet of monster hunters within each level. Some are strong and nimble, others frail but possessing powerful magic or the ability to morph into a bat and fly through narrow passages or above danger. Equipping interchangeable sub-weapons, often extremely effective against certain enemies and bosses, plotting and strategy is often as important as outmaneuvering an airborne femur.
The game temporarily disregards it's 8-bit restraints during the nine boss fights; some massive, with blinding lighting effects. The first level features an ominous train seemingly taunting the player from the background. After boarding and exploring the rotting cabins decorated by human skulls, up at the front engine...a towering furnace contraption drags in coal while belching waves of fire your way. Particular satisfying is the final boss: an ancient demon that seems almost impossible at first, but paying careful attention to attack patterns and the unique attributes of your team will allow you to topple her with minimum drain to your life meters.
Each stage's music track is energetic and memorable, meant to sustain the player through many replays. The wailing synthesizers of Stage 1 sound almost self-aware of the game's campy mood. With a subtle ancient Egyptian sound, Stage 3's treasure tomb has an appropriate, unrelenting pressure to match the level's intended claustrophobia. The standout is the hidden level 9, full of energetic finality and a soulful chiptune guitar solo.
Graphics are faithful enough to a NES game to invoke nostalgia, without the flicker or slowdown. The dozens of enemies appear entirely authentic to late 80s console gaming. The sparse but contrasting color palette smartly facilitates distinction from one stage to the next and invokes a hostile, yet stylish atmosphere. The one drawback is that by being designed for HDTV displays, tile repetition is more apparent, and there's always a sense of the screen being overly zoomed out and slightly empty, even though action always awaits.
While the game takes only an hour or two to beat, the frequent branching paths within each stage, significantly varied quests, life and physics settings will lure one through plenty of playthroughs. You may enjoy dozens of hours of escalating challenge before slamming the lid on this coffin. Curse of the Moon isn't a shameless ripoff, but a worthy entry among many fantastic retro revivals. Not only will this please decades long Castlevania fans, the generous difficulty scaling makes it the perfect starting point for those still intimated to lace up the boots of a Belmont.